REVIEW – IQQ C18
Price: $69, from Penonaudio
For full specifications please refer to the store product page – LINK
Build Quality & Design:
The IQQ C18 arrives in a simple yet nice white box. Inside there’s the C18 player itself and a USB cable.
Build quality on the C18 is superb made of an all metal alloy body which is very solid and feel really durable too. The surface is smooth and while the device has some weight it’s still just 12mm thick making it pocket friendly enough for the daily portable use. The buttons are made of metal material as well, and just the wheel is made of plastic.
The C18 has a built-in 8GB flash memory with some audio files already included and also has one micro-SD card slot.
The navigation and playback controls are all placed on the frontal panel while the volume are on the right side. At the upper part there’re the power button with the 2 output connections, phone and lineout. At the bottom there’re the micro-USB port, micro-SD slot and reset and microphone.
UI, Navigation, Firmware:
The TFT screen is colorful with a fair level of resolution for this price, easy to read and works fine under the sun. An interesting feature on the settings options is the possibility of changing the display theme style from vertical to horizontal icons display. Both look identical to what was used on the Fiio players.
Despite the lack of manual (and website) the navigation is quite intuitive and easy to figure out after some minutes of use. While not the most friendly interface it has the needed controls for simple playback and navigation. A Menu button under the left side of the screen and a Back on the right side (which works as Home to return back to the main screen if held for a couple of seconds). The power button works as screen off/on option as well. Playback and volume control is possible while screen off; for that it’s needed to setup it at the settings options.
The up and down controls under the menu button work as playback controls for previous/next track and backward/forward, and also as navigation through menus. The wheel can be used for navigation as well or for volume adjustment, and in the middle you’ll find the play/pause button.
The buttons may need some extra force to respond. And also, the main system response is a bit slow, especially when navigating through large file menus.
The current firmware seems stable enough most of the times. However, it may sometimes crush when handling certain larger files (Flac or similar). For system update it’s possible to contact the seller as well. Yet, the main flaw of the C18 system should be the laggy response to the controls. It’s not just the wheel lacking accuracy, but the whole response is slow.
PC connection and file transferring:
Pretty easy, just plug the player and it’ll be immediately recognized, at least under Win7 or 10 systems.
The two display themes:
Battery, Hiss:
The rated battery duration is around ~55 hours, and it seems to be a fair statement. So far there was never the need to fully charge the battery even after some days of normal use of 2~3 per day at moderate volumes.
No hiss was noticed even with the most sensitive IEM/CIEMs sets.
Extra features:
The C18 also allows FM radio listening and voice recording (which seems of fairly decent quality)
Volume & Power:
The volume scales up to 100 steps. The jump from between steps is small enough to suit the easier to drive earphones. However, while the C18 can sound loud is not a too powerful DAP. For most standard earphones that usually for around 16~32 ohm and 100~110db, a 40/100 level should be enough to get a comfortable sound level. With some others sets as the VE Monk+ (64ohm), GR07 (50ohm), SM E80 (64ohm), it already went up to around 50/100 steps, and with higher impedance sets such as the VE Asura 2 (150ohm) or Sennheiser HD25 (70ohm) the volume reaches the 70/100, and still does not bring them their best performance.
EQ:
The equalization presets are not something worth mentioning, and are pretty much a cheap joke. However, the C18 still offers the common Custom 5-band option. It’s still nothing too great, but works fine if needed to tweak some small parts of the overall freq. as with most low budget oriented portable players from unknown Chinese companies.
Sound Impressions
Some of the gears used: Vsonic GR07, Dunu DN-2002, Fiio EX1ii, VE Duke and Asura 2, Senn HD-25 ii, Grado SR80e; Xduoo X3, Aune M1s, Fiio X3ii.
Utilizing a RKNanoD-N chip (as stated on the specs), the C18 is definitely a colored sounding DAP. The sound is presented in a very rich, full and musical way that while may not focus in being the most accurate it is not lacking in micro detail. Overall, it offers a warm and fairly sweet sound that starts from a fairly strong low-end response that goes all the way up to the midrange. Bass has a strong impact, which is well noticed when paired with the GR07 Classic, E80, R-50M or B150, and can get slightly boomier but not too aggressive with the Fiio EX1ii or DN-2002, and while not being particularly dominating it has more mid-bass focus than sub-bass. It is richer in texture and fun to listen, but makes the overall sound far from being neutral. Considering the extra quantity, the control remains quite good just not as tight as with the Xduoo X3 or Fiio X3ii.
Midrange is full with a sweet texture. Not too forward or so present as the bass but never distant; even with more v-shaped sets as the EX1ii, Finder X1 or DN-1000, the mids are well positioned, smooth and more engaging. A similar effect is achieved with the M50x and Grado SR80, though it may feel more congested and lacking in sense of air with the larger headphones. Balance is equal from low to upper mids and gives a good sense of separation and nice texture to voices.
Treble is very smooth and laid-back. Shows some limited extension and roll-off with more treble forward sets. Detail is not missing and it’s pretty good for this price, though not meant for more analytical listening. However, it pairs quite well with more aggressive earphones as the potential extra harshness or sibilance is subdued to a fair level. With the LZ A4 and Brainwavz B200 I found it too ‘safe sounding’ to my liking, but the synergy with the Fiio EX1ii is really nice.
Soundstage doesn’t feel too large but depth level is good enough. At higher volumes there’s some distortion and lack of refinement when compared to the Xduoo X3 or PAW Pico, but the C18 is definitely much better sounding than any of the current Sandisk and iShuffle options with a much coherent imaging and natural presentation.
Line Out/Amplification:
With Topping NX5 and Cayin C5
The LO port works well. It doesn’t have a fixed output volume so there’s still need to adjust it with the volume control of the player together with the amplifier in use. However, compared to the headphone output, the lineout starts lowering some decibels for a better pairing. With both the Topping NX5 and Cayin C5 the results are very positive, and despite the extra warm and smooth sound of the C18 both amplifiers are able to bring out a higher level of detail and resolution. For a portable use the NX5 is a better match as the ~30hr. battery goes well with the very long C18 battery.
Summary
Pros:
Good SQ for the price; Strong build quality; battery
Cons:
UI; Navigation; no manual; no firmware update option (no website); not suited for hungry gears; EQ options; slow/laggy system response; no gapless playback?
Rating: 3.5/5. Strong features with some reservations.
Price: $69, from Penonaudio
For full specifications please refer to the store product page – LINK
Build Quality & Design:
The IQQ C18 arrives in a simple yet nice white box. Inside there’s the C18 player itself and a USB cable.
Build quality on the C18 is superb made of an all metal alloy body which is very solid and feel really durable too. The surface is smooth and while the device has some weight it’s still just 12mm thick making it pocket friendly enough for the daily portable use. The buttons are made of metal material as well, and just the wheel is made of plastic.
The C18 has a built-in 8GB flash memory with some audio files already included and also has one micro-SD card slot.
The navigation and playback controls are all placed on the frontal panel while the volume are on the right side. At the upper part there’re the power button with the 2 output connections, phone and lineout. At the bottom there’re the micro-USB port, micro-SD slot and reset and microphone.
UI, Navigation, Firmware:
The TFT screen is colorful with a fair level of resolution for this price, easy to read and works fine under the sun. An interesting feature on the settings options is the possibility of changing the display theme style from vertical to horizontal icons display. Both look identical to what was used on the Fiio players.
Despite the lack of manual (and website) the navigation is quite intuitive and easy to figure out after some minutes of use. While not the most friendly interface it has the needed controls for simple playback and navigation. A Menu button under the left side of the screen and a Back on the right side (which works as Home to return back to the main screen if held for a couple of seconds). The power button works as screen off/on option as well. Playback and volume control is possible while screen off; for that it’s needed to setup it at the settings options.
The up and down controls under the menu button work as playback controls for previous/next track and backward/forward, and also as navigation through menus. The wheel can be used for navigation as well or for volume adjustment, and in the middle you’ll find the play/pause button.
The buttons may need some extra force to respond. And also, the main system response is a bit slow, especially when navigating through large file menus.
The current firmware seems stable enough most of the times. However, it may sometimes crush when handling certain larger files (Flac or similar). For system update it’s possible to contact the seller as well. Yet, the main flaw of the C18 system should be the laggy response to the controls. It’s not just the wheel lacking accuracy, but the whole response is slow.
PC connection and file transferring:
Pretty easy, just plug the player and it’ll be immediately recognized, at least under Win7 or 10 systems.
The two display themes:
Battery, Hiss:
The rated battery duration is around ~55 hours, and it seems to be a fair statement. So far there was never the need to fully charge the battery even after some days of normal use of 2~3 per day at moderate volumes.
No hiss was noticed even with the most sensitive IEM/CIEMs sets.
Extra features:
The C18 also allows FM radio listening and voice recording (which seems of fairly decent quality)
Volume & Power:
The volume scales up to 100 steps. The jump from between steps is small enough to suit the easier to drive earphones. However, while the C18 can sound loud is not a too powerful DAP. For most standard earphones that usually for around 16~32 ohm and 100~110db, a 40/100 level should be enough to get a comfortable sound level. With some others sets as the VE Monk+ (64ohm), GR07 (50ohm), SM E80 (64ohm), it already went up to around 50/100 steps, and with higher impedance sets such as the VE Asura 2 (150ohm) or Sennheiser HD25 (70ohm) the volume reaches the 70/100, and still does not bring them their best performance.
EQ:
The equalization presets are not something worth mentioning, and are pretty much a cheap joke. However, the C18 still offers the common Custom 5-band option. It’s still nothing too great, but works fine if needed to tweak some small parts of the overall freq. as with most low budget oriented portable players from unknown Chinese companies.
Sound Impressions
Some of the gears used: Vsonic GR07, Dunu DN-2002, Fiio EX1ii, VE Duke and Asura 2, Senn HD-25 ii, Grado SR80e; Xduoo X3, Aune M1s, Fiio X3ii.
Utilizing a RKNanoD-N chip (as stated on the specs), the C18 is definitely a colored sounding DAP. The sound is presented in a very rich, full and musical way that while may not focus in being the most accurate it is not lacking in micro detail. Overall, it offers a warm and fairly sweet sound that starts from a fairly strong low-end response that goes all the way up to the midrange. Bass has a strong impact, which is well noticed when paired with the GR07 Classic, E80, R-50M or B150, and can get slightly boomier but not too aggressive with the Fiio EX1ii or DN-2002, and while not being particularly dominating it has more mid-bass focus than sub-bass. It is richer in texture and fun to listen, but makes the overall sound far from being neutral. Considering the extra quantity, the control remains quite good just not as tight as with the Xduoo X3 or Fiio X3ii.
Midrange is full with a sweet texture. Not too forward or so present as the bass but never distant; even with more v-shaped sets as the EX1ii, Finder X1 or DN-1000, the mids are well positioned, smooth and more engaging. A similar effect is achieved with the M50x and Grado SR80, though it may feel more congested and lacking in sense of air with the larger headphones. Balance is equal from low to upper mids and gives a good sense of separation and nice texture to voices.
Treble is very smooth and laid-back. Shows some limited extension and roll-off with more treble forward sets. Detail is not missing and it’s pretty good for this price, though not meant for more analytical listening. However, it pairs quite well with more aggressive earphones as the potential extra harshness or sibilance is subdued to a fair level. With the LZ A4 and Brainwavz B200 I found it too ‘safe sounding’ to my liking, but the synergy with the Fiio EX1ii is really nice.
Soundstage doesn’t feel too large but depth level is good enough. At higher volumes there’s some distortion and lack of refinement when compared to the Xduoo X3 or PAW Pico, but the C18 is definitely much better sounding than any of the current Sandisk and iShuffle options with a much coherent imaging and natural presentation.
Line Out/Amplification:
With Topping NX5 and Cayin C5
The LO port works well. It doesn’t have a fixed output volume so there’s still need to adjust it with the volume control of the player together with the amplifier in use. However, compared to the headphone output, the lineout starts lowering some decibels for a better pairing. With both the Topping NX5 and Cayin C5 the results are very positive, and despite the extra warm and smooth sound of the C18 both amplifiers are able to bring out a higher level of detail and resolution. For a portable use the NX5 is a better match as the ~30hr. battery goes well with the very long C18 battery.
Summary
Pros:
Good SQ for the price; Strong build quality; battery
Cons:
UI; Navigation; no manual; no firmware update option (no website); not suited for hungry gears; EQ options; slow/laggy system response; no gapless playback?
Rating: 3.5/5. Strong features with some reservations.
